As an Italian
citizen and a Catholic by marriage, I am writing to your Holiness on
behalf of my human rights organization, Voice of the Copts. Our mission
is to raise awareness in the West about the plight of the Egyptian
Christians and their struggle against Islamic supremacy. Born into a
Coptic family in Cairo, Arabic was my native language while growing up.
Today I find these assets valuable in interpreting and explaining
current events as they pertain to the hidden realities of Islam and its
impact on the free world.

For many years I
have found various doors opened to our organization, and many willing to
listen to the grim facts now facing democratic nations dealing with an
encroaching Islam. Only the grace of God has kept us in our work as we
have put our personal finances to good use in fulfilling our goals.

Naturally, I
thought the Christian community around the world and especially
denominations in the United States would embrace my message and join
with us in this very serious endeavor. I found the opposite to be true.
Most churches, including the Coptic Orthodox and the Catholic Church,
are, if not indifferent, uninterested in offering us opportunities to
speak out on the dangers of what lies behind the persecution of
Christians and Jews even as we have asked for no special treatment and
no financial contributions.

To put it bluntly,
whenever we met with Catholic bishops and priests in America to tell
the story of Copts, our request for action was largely ignored. I was
utterly mystified by the consistency of this response. I found it
inexplicable – until now.

My answer arrived
just a few days ago with an incident involving Catholic Bishop McManus
of Worcester, Massachusetts who reversed his decision to have a friend
of mine, Robert Spencer, -- a fellow activist, author and expert on
Islam -- speak at their men’s conference on March 16. The Bishop caved
in to the false charges of an Islamic supremacist group that viciously
attacked Mr. Spencer with names such as arch-Islamophobe and hatemonger
claiming he had no authority to speak about Islam.

The Catholic
diocese complied with these audacious demands and canceled the
engagement without interest in pursuing Mr. Spencer’s point-of-view or
the issue of free speech. Such submission through appeasement weakens
the church.

I have always
believed that my lack of progress toward activating the church with my
message of the Coptic struggle was never solely due to my personal
failing. The rescinding of Mr. Spencer’s invitation by the Bishop in
reaction to pressure by Muslim activist, Abdul Cader Asmal, reaffirms my
true belief that the real failure resides in the local church -- its
unwillingness to recognize the important role it could play in standing
up for the very freedoms that afford religious practice.

Muslims in Egypt
and other Islamic-majority countries attack Christians and their
churches, oppressing them by serial acts of violence perpetrated in the
name of Allah and Islam just because of their Christian faith. Church
leaders in free nations must speak out in defense of their brothers and
sisters in Christ who suffer persecution and are weakened by strong
waves of Islamic attacks, powerless to help themselves under brutal
regimes. In speaking out, we exercise the teachings of our Lord’s words.

We do not advocate
holy war. Our adversaries do that. We only ask that church leaders who
are bound up in fear, intimidation and lies as a result of false
propaganda and interreligious dialogue be given license to think
critically, assess the origins of persecution forces around the world
and judge accurately the reasons for Christian victimization. This
license can come only from the official heads of church denominations in
statements contradicting the disinformation campaign forced upon
Christians and Jews in the West.

To make certain
that each and every believer becomes aware, properly informed, and
conscious of the threat we face, the church must first create a new
openness and interest in learning the truth from correct and trustworthy
sources -- without expurgation, mitigation, or political correctness.
Every single Christian must comprehend the worldview held by the
perpetrators of these unspeakable crimes against Christians and Jews
around the world -- before it is too late.

His Holiness, as we are certain of your wisdom and concern for our beloved church,

Voice of the Copts
kindly requests the Holy See to conduct an immediate investigation into
the Diocese of Worcester to determine the reasons behind the Bishop’s
behavior. Please attend also to other dioceses around the world likewise
misled in their responses when confronting similar dilemmas -- acting
out contemporary portrayals of Judas who betrayed Christ for thirty
pieces of silver.

Comments

Voice of the Copts: Request Holy See Investigation

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

As an Italian
citizen and a Catholic by marriage, I am writing to your Holiness on
behalf of my human rights organization, Voice of the Copts. Our mission
is to raise awareness in the West about the plight of the Egyptian
Christians and their struggle against Islamic supremacy. Born into a
Coptic family in Cairo, Arabic was my native language while growing up.
Today I find these assets valuable in interpreting and explaining
current events as they pertain to the hidden realities of Islam and its
impact on the free world.

For many years I
have found various doors opened to our organization, and many willing to
listen to the grim facts now facing democratic nations dealing with an
encroaching Islam. Only the grace of God has kept us in our work as we
have put our personal finances to good use in fulfilling our goals.

Naturally, I
thought the Christian community around the world and especially
denominations in the United States would embrace my message and join
with us in this very serious endeavor. I found the opposite to be true.
Most churches, including the Coptic Orthodox and the Catholic Church,
are, if not indifferent, uninterested in offering us opportunities to
speak out on the dangers of what lies behind the persecution of
Christians and Jews even as we have asked for no special treatment and
no financial contributions.

To put it bluntly,
whenever we met with Catholic bishops and priests in America to tell
the story of Copts, our request for action was largely ignored. I was
utterly mystified by the consistency of this response. I found it
inexplicable – until now.

My answer arrived
just a few days ago with an incident involving Catholic Bishop McManus
of Worcester, Massachusetts who reversed his decision to have a friend
of mine, Robert Spencer, -- a fellow activist, author and expert on
Islam -- speak at their men’s conference on March 16. The Bishop caved
in to the false charges of an Islamic supremacist group that viciously
attacked Mr. Spencer with names such as arch-Islamophobe and hatemonger
claiming he had no authority to speak about Islam.

The Catholic
diocese complied with these audacious demands and canceled the
engagement without interest in pursuing Mr. Spencer’s point-of-view or
the issue of free speech. Such submission through appeasement weakens
the church.

I have always
believed that my lack of progress toward activating the church with my
message of the Coptic struggle was never solely due to my personal
failing. The rescinding of Mr. Spencer’s invitation by the Bishop in
reaction to pressure by Muslim activist, Abdul Cader Asmal, reaffirms my
true belief that the real failure resides in the local church -- its
unwillingness to recognize the important role it could play in standing
up for the very freedoms that afford religious practice.

Muslims in Egypt
and other Islamic-majority countries attack Christians and their
churches, oppressing them by serial acts of violence perpetrated in the
name of Allah and Islam just because of their Christian faith. Church
leaders in free nations must speak out in defense of their brothers and
sisters in Christ who suffer persecution and are weakened by strong
waves of Islamic attacks, powerless to help themselves under brutal
regimes. In speaking out, we exercise the teachings of our Lord’s words.

We do not advocate
holy war. Our adversaries do that. We only ask that church leaders who
are bound up in fear, intimidation and lies as a result of false
propaganda and interreligious dialogue be given license to think
critically, assess the origins of persecution forces around the world
and judge accurately the reasons for Christian victimization. This
license can come only from the official heads of church denominations in
statements contradicting the disinformation campaign forced upon
Christians and Jews in the West.

To make certain
that each and every believer becomes aware, properly informed, and
conscious of the threat we face, the church must first create a new
openness and interest in learning the truth from correct and trustworthy
sources -- without expurgation, mitigation, or political correctness.
Every single Christian must comprehend the worldview held by the
perpetrators of these unspeakable crimes against Christians and Jews
around the world -- before it is too late.

His Holiness, as we are certain of your wisdom and concern for our beloved church,

Voice of the Copts
kindly requests the Holy See to conduct an immediate investigation into
the Diocese of Worcester to determine the reasons behind the Bishop’s
behavior. Please attend also to other dioceses around the world likewise
misled in their responses when confronting similar dilemmas -- acting
out contemporary portrayals of Judas who betrayed Christ for thirty
pieces of silver.